The Best £500 to £750 Road Bikes

Previously we’ve looked at the best bikes costing under £500, now it is time to have a close look at the bikes you can buy for between £500 and £750, and see what spending a couple of hundred pounds more really gets you. You can generally expect lighter frames, carbon fibre forks and higher quality components.

At this price range you an expect lighter aluminium frames with double and triple butted tubes – saving weight and offering improved ride performance – and carbon fibre forks (but with aluminium steerer tubes) again to save a bit of weight. Many of these frames feature a geometry that places the handlebars a little higher than a race bike along with a shorter top tube which can make them more comfortable, especially if you’re new to road cycling.

Shimano is the predominant groupset brand with Claris and Sora common on bikes costing between £500 and £750. Most bikes will feature compact chainsets – that’s two chainrings in 50 and 34-tooth ratios – that should make spinning up even the steepest hills a little easier. Some bikes even have triple chainsets – three chainrings between the pedals – that will make climbing anything much easier. Shimano’s excellent Tiagra groupset starts to get a look in the closer you nudge to £750 and you might just find .

Expect own-brand wheels, tyres, handlebars, stem and saddles on most of these bikes as manufacturers aim to keep the bikes within budget. Most own-brand components are of an excellent quality these days as most brands have really raised the standard over the past 10 years. That means you’re getting really well finished bikes ready to ride and race from the shop.

If this is your first road bike and you want some more useful advice for buying your first road bike, then make sure you have a read of the road.cc Buying Basics: Buying your first road bike guide. It’ll arm you with all the important advice you need to know before making a decision.

At the time of writing (early October 2015) 2016 bikes are arriving in the shops, but there are plenty of great deals around on 2015 bikes, so our selection contains both.

The Point R is a brand new road bike from British brand Mango Bikes, and it offers a smooth looking aluminium frame with internal cable routing and a carbon fork. It’s available at four prices, starting from £449.99 and rising to £749.98.

The Point R has a splendid looking frame. It’s made from 6061 aluminium with a shapely down tube and top tube which both combine to give the bike a sporty appearance, with the down tube flaring into a tapered head tube. The majority of the welds are smooth, giving the appearance of a more expensive carbon frame when viewed from a distance.